The day after police recovered Frank Bonacci’s body, they recorded a phone call between the man accused of killing him and the woman they believe motivated the execution-style slaying.

Keri Tucker said over and over that “things looked bad” for Jason Dominick and Neil Pal. She also lied, saying police had incrimininating photos of Mr. Dominick in Mr. Bonacci’s car the morning he was killed.

But Mr. Dominick didn’t believe her, saying there were no photos and police were just “trying to squeeze” information out of her.

Prosecutors played the phone call during the third day of Mr. Dominick’s trial Wednesday.

Speaking in a soft and, at times, inaudible voice, Ms. Tucker recounted her rocky relationship with Mr. Dominick and the call police recorded, in which she asked Mr. Dominick about what really happened the morning Mr. Bonacci disappeared.

Mr. Bonacci was reported missing July 20, the night after an all-night party at Mr. Pal’s house. After an exhaustive search, his body was found a week later in his vehicle at the bottom of a 72-foot ravine. Prosecutors believe Mr. Dominick and Mr. Pal, both 23 and of Scranton, conspired to kill the Dunmore man and placed a rock on his gas pedal, sending the evidence down the embankment near the Step Falls in Scranton.

Mr. Dominick faces first- and third-degree murder charges as well as conspiracy charges. Mr. Pal is charged as an accomplice and is scheduled for trial in June.

Jurors watched the transcript of the phone call scroll across a large white screen at the side of the courtroom as the audio played.

“It just looks bad for like, you and Neil,” Ms. Tucker said in the recording.

“Well, I’m not hiding anything,” Mr. Dominick responded.

She told him she just finished speaking with police, who said they had a picture of him in Mr. Bonacci’s Jeep that morning, taken from a camera in an alleyway.

He told her he had considered joining the military, but the thought of hurting others always deterred him.

“I don’t know what to believe,” she said. “I hope you didn’t do anything.”

In earlier testimony Wednesday, Ms. Tucker said her turbulent five-year romance with Mr. Dominick began in 2008. When they were together, there was no trust. When they were apart, there was jealousy.

“It was exhausting,” she said.

Lackawanna County First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico asked her if she still loved the man seated at the defense table.

“Yes, still, there’s a part of me that does,” she said softly.

Her eyes were trained on Mr. Talerico or the evidence projected on the screen for most of her testimony. She looked at Mr. Dominick only to identify him as the defendant.

“It’s hard for me to see him doing this,” she said.

Prosecutors also showed transcripts of text messages between Mr. Dominick and Ms. Tucker, as well as a message Mr. Bonacci sent her, shortly before his death.

Ms. Tucker broke down and wiped away tears as she read a printout of his message, which said it took him a while to get over her and he was sorry for what he had done wrong when they dated. A second message said he wished her the best.

Mr. Dominick was with her that night and read the first part of the text.

“He didn’t say anything, just didn’t even bother looking at the second part of it,” she said of his reaction.

“We’d want to be together, but we couldn’t be because we both knew it couldn’t happen,” she testified about Mr. Dominick. “I think we both loved each other, the idea of each other.”

Also Wednesday, the woman who picked up Mr. Dominick and Mr. Pal shortly after police say Mr. Bonacci was killed testified she did not notice anything unusual about their clothing or demeanor.

Maribeth Castaldi said both men appeared “completely normal” when they emerged from a wooded area off Interstate 81 South just before the exit for the Central Scranton Expressway. She had gone to the area around 7:30 a.m. on July 20, after receiving a call from Mr. Pal seeking a ride.

Calling her relationship with Mr. Pal like that of brother and sister, she said she never said no when he asked for favors, including the early morning pick up.

There is no evidence that Ms. Castaldi knew that, nearby, Mr. Bonacci lay dead in his car.

“Did you sense any trepidation or fear” in the men? Mr. Talerico asked.

“No. They were completely normal,” Ms. Castaldi replied.

She did not suspect anything was amiss, she testified, until a few days later when she spoke to Mr. Pal on the phone. He told her he had called her that morning to ask her to pick up her boyfriend, who had spent the night at his home.

“He said, ‘I called you to pick up Sean up and you said you couldn’t,’” Ms. Castaldi said. “It wasn’t what happened and I knew something definitely wasn’t right.”

Questioned by Mr. Dominick’s attorney, Bernard Brown, Ms. Castaldi said Mr. Pal did not specifically instruct her to lie if she spoke to police, but that was the implied message.

Ms. Castaldi also testified that she knew Mr. Pal to carry a gun and on one occasion, he fired a shot through her dining room table. She said though he fired on purpose, the whole thing was a joke and didn’t bother her.

Terrie Morgan Besecker, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter

At the trial Wednesday

In other testimony Wednesday:

n Brandon Emily, who attended the party at Neil Pal’s house, testified Mr. Pal told him he was going to drive Frank Bonacci and Jason Dominick home around 7 a.m. He then saw the men leave together and walk toward Mr. Bonacci’s car, even though Mr. Pal’s car was parked behind his house. Mr. Emily did not see the men enter Mr. Bonacci’s car because it was obscured by a garage. He did hear the vehicle pull out and did not see Mr. Pal or Mr. Dominick return to the home. Mr. Emily also said Mr. Pal offered to give him a ride home with Mr. Dominick and Mr. Bonacci, but Mr. Emily declined because a friend was coming to pick him up.

n Thomas Butler, a Dunmore police officer, testified and played a videotape of individual interviews he conducted with Mr. Pal and Mr. Dominick after Mr. Bonacci, whose body was not found for seven days, was listed as a missing person. In the interviews, Mr. Pal and Mr. Dominick each claimed Mr. Bonacci left the party at Mr. Pal’s house and drove off by himself. Each man also mentioned that Mr. Dominick had a drug problem, and that he owed some people money.

n Cameron Kashmer testified he sold a .38 caliber revolver to Mr. Pal in March 2012 for $200. The money went toward a $1,000 gambling debt he owed Mr. Pal. Mr. Kashmer said he became concerned in August after he learned from news reports that Mr. Bonacci was shot by a .38-caliber gun. He contacted prosecutors, who promised they would not use any information he provided against him as long as he told the full truth.

—TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER

What’s next

The prosecution plans to call several more witnesses today, including:

n Keri Tucker, the woman prosecutors say was the center of the conflict between Jason Dominick and Frank Bonacci, will retake the stand to conclude her testimony that began Wednesday.

n Dan Miller, the man who discovered Mr. Bonacci’s vehicle in a ravine off of Ridge Row on July 27.

n Scranton Police Detective Michael Schultz, one of the investigating officers in the case.

n Lyndsey Hannick, a former girlfriend of Mr. Dominick.

n Dr. Gary Ross, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy of Mr. Bonacci.Testimony will resume at 9:30 a.m.

Dominick to take stand

Jason Dominick plans to take the stand to defend himself against charges he killed Frank Bonacci, Mr. Dominick’s attorney confirmed Wednesday.

Mr. Dominick, 23, of Scranton, admits he was present when Mr. Bonacci, 24, of Dunmore, was shot to death inside his car on July 20, but contends his co-defendant, Neil Pal, fired the fatal shot.

Prosecutors contend Mr. Dominick was seated in the rear passenger seat and shot Mr. Bonacci in the back of the head because he was angry Mr. Bonacci had dated Keri Tucker, Mr. Dominick’s ex-girlfriend.

Jurors will decide whether he is guilty of first- or third-degree murder and a conspiracy charge. Mr. Pal, 23, of Scranton, is charged as an accomplice and is scheduled to go on trial in June.

In his opening statement Tuesday, Mr. Dominick’s attorney, Bernard Brown, said Mr. Pal offered to drive Mr. Dominick and Mr. Bonacci home from an all-night drinking party at Mr. Pal’s home. Sometime during the ride, Mr. Pal shot Mr. Bonacci in the head. He then coerced Mr. Dominick into helping him force the vehicle into a 72-foot ravine off Ridge Row, where it was discovered on July 27.

Mr. Brown said he expects the prosecution will conclude its case by Friday, with the defense beginning its case on Monday.

— TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER

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